SOUTH COBB HIGH SCHOOL
ASSIGNMENT OVERVIEW
You have the option to complete a summer English project. The credit you receive for this assignment can be used to replace a test or project grade of your choice in one English class you are enrolled in for the 2012-2013 school year. You will turn in your project during the first week of the semester. While the assignment is not required, you are encouraged to take advantage of this excellent opportunity. Students enrolled in AP Literature/Language will receive an alternate assignment.
For questions or concerns, email Dr. Lisa Cherry, English Department Chair: lisa.cherry@cobbk12.org INSPIRATIONAL STORIES Dewey’s 9 Lives: The Legacy of a Small Town Library Cat Who Inspired Millions– Myron Kisses from Katie – Davis This I Believe – Allison, Gediman, Gregory, Merrick Life Freaks Me Out and I Deal With It – Hong The Invisible Thread: The True Story of an 11-Year-Old Panhandler, a Busy Sales Executive, and an Unlikely Meeting With Destiny– Schroff BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR/STORIES OF STRUGGLE The Color of Water – McBrideRocket Boys – Hickman Jr. They Poured Fire on Us – Bernstein Long Way Gone – Beah The Hole in my Life – Gantos We Were Soldiers: A Journey Back to the Battlefields of Vietnam – Moore and Galloway The Zookeeper’s Wife: A War Story – Ackerman Into Thin Air – Krakauer SOCIAL INTEREST/POPULAR CULTURE No Choirboy: Murder, Violence and Teenagers on Death Row - Kulkin Fast Food Nation – Schlosser Can I See Your I.D.? True Stories of False Identities - Barton SPORTS I Beat the Odds – Yaegar and Oher Beyond Belief – Keown and Hamilton It’s Not About the Bike – ArmstrongThe Bottom of the 33rd – Barry WRITING AND LITERATURE Bird by Bird – Lamott The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, A Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession – Bartlett Scribbling Women : True Tales from Astonishing Lives – Jocelyn SCIENCE Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers – Roach HISTORY The Smart Alek’s Guide to American History – Selzer Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle To Freedom (with a few flat tires along the way) – Macy How Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science – Aronson The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration – Wilkerson FINE ARTS: MUSIC AND ART I.M. Pei: Architect of Time, Place, and Purpose – Rubalcaba Raggin, Jazzin’, and Rockin’: A History of American Musical Instrument Makers – VanHecke Tortured Artists From Picasso and Monroe to Warhol and Winehouse: The Twisted Secrets of the World’s Most Creative Minds – Zara TECHNOLOGY The Winter of Our Disconnect: How Three Totally Wired Teenagers (and a Mother Who Slept with Her iPhone) Pulled the Plug on Their Technology and Lived to Tell the Tale – Maushart The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains – Carr Top Ten Project List: One project is suggested for each reading selection. If you are enrolled in an Advanced Placement class you should engage in one of the assignments at the bottom of the sheet specifically given for your class.
1. Book Summary - Write a summary of the novel from one character’s point-of-view (500- 700 words). At the end of the summary, a personal critique should be offered.
2. Compare/Contrast - Write an essay in which you compare and/or contrast this novel with the film version of this book OR with a novel by the same or different author (300-500 words). Consider why certain scenes were left out of added, and why things were presented in the movie differently than you imagined when reading the book
3. F.Y.I. - Research a topic connected to your novel and create an informational brochure. Be sure to include a Works Cited page (found on Cobb County District Website: Research Paper) of your sources.
4. Interview - After studying a written interview in a newspaper or magazine, write a fictional interview between you and a character from the book (two pages).
5. Letter - Compose a letter to the author of the book. Use business letter format and address specifics from the novel (250-500 words).
6. Newspaper Article - Study a news article to familiarize yourself with the format and write a detailed news article about an event from the book. Include a heading and the 5 W’s—Who, What, When, Where, and Why.
7. Review - Write a book review of your summer reading selection. Find examples of other book reviews in a newspaper, magazine, or on-line to use as a template for your work (300-500 words).
8. Storyboard - Create a story board that depicts important scenes from the book as they might be included in a film.
9. X-ray - Look beyond the literal meaning and write an essay about the theme, specific symbolism, imagery, figurative language, and/or allegory of your summer reading selection (300-500 words).
